Game On

Game of Thrones: What to Expect from the Final Season

This post contains frank discussion of Game of Thrones up through Season 7, Episode 7, “The Dragon and the Wolf.” If you are not caught up with the season finale, now is the time to leave.

We have a long while yet to wait until Season 8 of Game of Thrones. The final season of the HBO series hasn’t even started shooting yet, and there are some rumors that given the time it will take to make six super-sized episodes, the eighth season won’t premiere until 2019.

Still, we obviously can’t help but start wondering now what will happen to our favorite characters in the home stretch of this series. It’s possible that George R.R. Martin’s next book, The Winds of Winter, will come out during the long off-season and provide us with many more juicy clues about the fates of the Lannisters, Starks, and the rest. (That’s certainly Martin’s hope, anyway.) But until then, there are, believe it or not, a few remaining book clues that should help fans know what to expect in the final season. Careful: here be dragons, and some book-informed speculation.

Jon Snow, a.k.a. Aegon Targaryen, and His Aunt Daenerys

If the way that the show juxtaposed Dany and Jon consummating their flirtation against the reveal that they’re related didn’t give you the sense that this relationship won‘t end well, then maybe some behind-the-scenes interviews will do the trick. Show-runner D.B. Weisssays the fact that Dany and Jon are related will “inevitably, if not drive them apart, will create real problems in their relationship.”

As for Jon’s (do we really need to call him Aegon?) claim to the throne, Emilia Clarkeconfirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Daenerys is not into sharing: “I’ve worked so hard, I don’t want to share that throne. No. The throne’s big enough for one dragon bum, and that’s mine. That’s it!” This would seem to confirm that Jon will play out the competitive role designated for a different Aegon Targaryen in the books. (It’s complicated; you can read about it here.) “It could be them walking off into the sunset,” Kit Harington speculated of the future of Jon and his sexy aunt. Or “it could be them killing each other.”

Jaime Lannister

Book readers have been waiting a looooong time for this one. Jaime Lannister walked away from his toxic relationship with Cersei way back in the 2005 novel A Feast for Crows. This is why you’ll often hear readers make a big deal out of the distinction between Book Jaime and Show Jaime; the show version may truly be the stupidest Lannister. Even Nikolaj Coster-Waldau seems to agree that his Jaime/Cersei separation was long overdue. In a Huffington Post interview, he sounds just as impatient as book fans: “We’ve been waiting for that moment a long time. There were so many other times when I thought that would be it, time for him to pack his bags, but I guess she finally took it one step too far . . . I don’t know why it took him so long to realize what the rest of the world always knew—that she is a crazy monster—but he finally did. And then he left.”

We can assume that Jaime is making good on his pledge to head north (to Brienne!!!!) and help Jon, Daenerys, and the rest fight in the Great War to Come. In the books, Jaime is so over Cersei that in Feast he’s tossing letters from her into the fire. I would happily watch him torch a raven scroll or two in Season 8, and most fans suspect he’ll do much more than that. Will Jaime kill his sister in the final season? Will they murder each other? Stay tuned.

Viserion

Okay, listen: I know we’re supposed to feel bad for Viserion. He died and now has to spend the rest of his days in evil thrall to the Night King. But doesn’t he sort of look like he’s having fun barbecuing the Wall? Truth be told, he was rather a neglected child under Dany’s care. She was all about Drogon all the time. Now Viserion can say, “I don’t need you, mom, I found a new rider.” Anyway: Viserion has a lot more roasting to do in the Great War to Come, and he’ll likely be squaring off against favorite son Drogon when it comes down to it. Will Bran take over his mind and warg Viserion back to the light side? Or will some kind of dragonglass javelin be required? I know just the man for that job.

The Sisters Stark

After an exhausting few episodes watching these girls snark and snipe at each other with very unconvincing cause, we finally saw in the season finale what it looks like when Arya and Sansa work together. And it was glorious. I sincerely doubt the show will try to drive them apart again. Arya’s role in the Great War is a fairly obvious one: she’s an assassin. Will she carry out a big murder-y mission next year while wearing a familiar face or will she and her Valyrian steel dagger go straight for the Night King?

Sansa’s role, however, seems a little less clear. She’s proven an admirable lady of Winterfell—when not distracted by shoddy scams—and could be invaluable in preparing the country for the long winter. But of all the Stark kids, she seems the least likely to make it all the way to the bitter end. Sansa is a survivor, but I’d still put her very high on your deathwatch list for next year.

The Brothers Clegane

I personally gave up on the Cleganebowl fan theory years ago. This is a long-held belief that Sandor and Gregor Clegane will square off and eventually murder each other. But this week’s episode has made me a believer again. Sandor says: “That’s not how it ends for you, brother. You know who’s coming for you. You’ve always known.” Some fans wonder if there might be a mystical interpretation for this. Maybe Sandor saw something in the flames. Or maybe he’s referring to Arya, who has kept the Mountain on her list this whole time. But the specific phrasing of “you’ve always known” makes it sound like the Hound is speaking of an ancient grudge between two brothers. Rory McCann confirms this interpretation in a behind-the-scenes interview characterizing the exchange as “you and me, pal, we haven’t finished—you’re getting it.”

One of the reasons I dismissed Cleganebowl is because I didn’t think it would be that satisfying to watch the Hound get revenge on his brother if his brother was, essentially, a zombie. But this scene also showed that Sandor, at least, still believes there is something of Gregor lurking inside that zombie shell. What better way for Gregor—who once shoved his brother’s face into a fire—to go out than in a literal blaze of glory? We were reminded this week that fire is one of the only ways to kill the undead in Westeros, and a flaming death for the Mountain could give the Hound a chance to finally overcome his greatest fear. Perhaps Beric will lend him that flaming sword.

Tyrion Lannister

Many fans were confused by this shot of Tyrion staring with sadness/jealousy/consternation at Jon entering Dany’s private cabin on the ship to White Harbor. Plenty are ready to chalk Tyrion’s concern up to the political. He was already exasperated with Jon’s lack of political savvy in the Dragonpit and likely feels the King in the North is the last person who should be wielding influence over Dany. That’s his job. He also might get even more frustrated if Jon ends up riding one of the dragons; that’s been Tyrion’s life-long dream. But there’s also, potentially, another wrinkle that may inform what Tyrion is up to in Season 8.

According to George R.R. Martin’s original Song of Ice and Fire outline, Tyrion and Jon were meant to be locked in a deadly rivalry over their love of Arya Stark. Obviously, that didn’t quite pan out in the final draft, but Dany may be taking Arya’s place at the center of a love triangle none of us really saw coming. In the finale, Cersei said this to Tyrion: “She’s your type of woman—a foreign whore who doesn’t know her place.” And in a pre-season interview, Peter Dinklage told TV Guide: “We’ll deal with how much Daenerys can trust him, but he’s smitten with his employer. How good can he be at his job while having those feelings?”

In the books, Dany receives the following prophecy: “Three treasons you will know . . . once for blood and once for gold and once for love . . .” Many think characters like Jorah, the witch Mirri Maz Duur, Hizdahr zo Loraq, and Xaro Xhoan Daxos fit one or many of these prophesied betrayals. But is there one more still to come? In Season 8, will Tyrion betray Daenerys for love?

The Watchers on the Wall

There’s also some confusion and much debate over whether Beric Dondarrion and Tormund Giantsbane survived Viserion’s icy blue blast. If the flame didn’t get them, surely the fall did. But most fans think that Tormund and Beric were safely on the side of the Wall that didn’t collapse into the sea, which means they might have a long walk back across the ridge to Castle Black, where they may be the ones to sound the alarm that winter (and the Army of the Dead) has come to Westeros. Wait, who am I kidding . . .

Samwell Tarly and His New Pet Raven

It will obviously be Bran who breaks the bad news to everyone. He was watching the Night King take down the Wall, after all. Man, Bran will have a lot to say in Season 8, given that he’s also sitting on all that Aegon/Rhaegar news. I confess: I’m not sure entirely what Bran’s role will be in the war. Will it be taking control of Viserion? Maybe. But more likely, Bran will be deployed to be the occasional “information bomb,” as Weiss termed it in the behind-the-scenes video. Frustratingly, Bran both knowing everything and not really knowing what he knows means that there will be no consistency to the way his information funnels into the show. Basically, he’s an exposition tool.

Still, it was fun to see that Rhaegar and Lyanna flashback. I’d happily have many, many more flashbacks in Season 8. And if Bran is teamed with Sam going forward, that would be very welcome news. Sam had a lightening effect on Bran—the kid practically cracked a joke!—so it would be wise for the show to have the Maester School dropout act as Bran’s interpreter going forward. And, no, I don’t think Bran is the Night King.

Bronn and Pod

Please, Lord of Light, let these two just sit out the war in a tavern somewhere. They are too precious to die. If Season 8 just cut to them occasionally getting drunker and rowdier at the Inn at the Crossroads while Hot Pie kept them well fed, I wouldn’t mind in the slightest.

Theon Greyjoy

Thanks to a conversation with his foster brother Jon Snow, Theon Greyjoy finally got his groove back. I suspect one of the reasons we saw Jon tell Theon that he could be “both Stark and Greyjoy” was to hint at Jon’s possible future grappling with his own dual citizenship. Ned Stark wasn’t Theon’s real father, but Jon wisely noted that Theon had some of the Stark spirit anyway. Hopefully Jon can give himself a similar pep talk when he realizes the honor he’s so proud of didn’t come to him biologically.

But enough about Jon. Theon’s Season 8 mission seems clear: rescue Yara and murder Euron. Will he do it? You know, I think he just might. The kid deserves a win.

Cersei Lannister

Speaking of Euron, he’s one of the only recognizably human allies left on Cersei’s side. We won’t count ghouls like Qyburn and the Mountain, shall we? He’s been sent off on an errand to fetch her an army of mercenaries with which to attack Daenerys. But here’s where book readers might have a little bit of insider information. In the books, the Golden Company is an elite fighting squad who have never broken a vow—until the latest George R.R. Martin book. In it, they abandoned one job in order to back whichever Targaryen heir they could find. The Golden Company was founded by a Blackfyre (a family line that springs from a Targaryen bastard), and in the books, the members of the Golden Company (made up of Westerosi exiles) long more than anything to come home. “A brotherhood of exiles and the sons of exiles, united by the dream of Bittersteel. It’s home they want, as much as gold,” one character says. And their Blackfyre/Targaryen family pride is a huge story point: “Some contracts are writ in ink, and some in blood. I say no more,” Magister Illyrio tells Tyrion of his ability to convince the Golden Company to fall in with the Targaryen cause.

Okay: but with six episodes left, is the HBO show really likely to go deep on the history and loyalties of a mercenary company that show watchers have barely heard of? No. But there is the tantalizing possibility (floated by some) that Dany’s old mercenary friend stranded in Meereen, old Daario Naharis, will return in order to lead the Golden Company and orchestrate a last-minute betrayal of Cersei. In other words, Cersei plans to buy the Company and ferry them home, but it might be Daenerys or Jon who gets their loyalty in the end.

All this is wild speculation, but what is true is that Cersei is pinning a lot of hopes on that baby growing in her belly. Her pregnancy was the reason she was finally willing to let Jaime go—she can build this dynasty all on her own. But if, as book readers suspect, that pregnancy doesn’t go as planned, we might see a truly unhinged Cersei in Season 8.

The Swords

It is worth remembering who has Valyrian steel on their hip going into the final battle. Those swords, as we’ve seen, can bust a White Walker into smithereens. Right now it’s Jon (Longclaw), Sam (Heartsbane), Brienne (Oathkeeper), Jaime (Widow’s Wail), and Arya (the Catspaw dagger). Samwell is not quite the swordsman these other four are, so perhaps he’ll hand his blade off to someone who can put it to better use.

The Rest

Okay, as for everyone else, let’s take a deep breath and see. Dolorous Edd has to be at Castle Black to (we hope) welcome Tormund and Beric. Gilly will be waiting patiently for Sam to apologize for not paying closer attention when she was talking about annulments. Davos, Jorah, Missandei, Grey Worm, and Varys may see their happy alliance fracture as they’re forced to choose between Jon and Daenerys. The loyalties for most of those people are pretty clear, but I’d call Varys a wild card. Melisandre went back to Essos to get something that will hopefully help in the war. Nymeria will also likely show herself one last time before all is said and done.

Yara, we hope, will help her brother murder Euron . . . a lot. Edmure Tully and Ellaria Sand will probably continue to rot away in their respective cells. Qyburn may be trying to build himself a better, faster zombie after what he saw in the Dragonpit. It would be lovely to see Gendry show up at Winterfell to both do some helpful smithing for the cause and see Arya again. Brienne will hopefully get some quality time with both Tormund and Jaime, and who cares if she winds up with either of them; let’s watch her shatter some Walkers.